Suction nozzle with litter lifter



March 11, 1958 M.IH. RIPPLE 2,825,926

SUCTION NOZZLE wrm LITTER LIFTER Filed Dec. 23, 1955 United States Patent p v 2,825,926 SUCTION NOZZLE WITH LITTER LIFTER Melvin H. Ripple, North Canton, Ohio, assignor to The llfoail'ltier Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation 0 o Application December 23, 1955, Serial No. 555,062 Claims. (Cl. 15-363) The present invention relates to suction cleaners and more particularly to a litter lifter nozzle therefore designed to'be used at the end of a flexible hose leading to the suction inlet of a motor-fan-filter unit.

The present invention is an improvement over a copending application 'by Jack E. Duff and Melvin H. Ripple, Serial No. 499,614, filed April 6, 1955.

In that application an endless belt is positioned within the nozzle and is movably mounted over a pair of rollers in such a manner that the lower loop of the belt contacts the'floor as it passes over the lower roller while the other loop is positioned upwardly in the nozzle where it passes over another roller. The belt extends the width of the nozzle and is provided with slits in its outer periphery which extend across the width of the belt and correspondingly lengthwise of the nozzle. As the nozzle is pushed along the surface being cleaned the belt is moved in an orbital path about the rollers. As the belt passes over the lower roller the slits open and close to grasp the lint etc. which may be present on the carpet and carries it upwardly into the nozzle where it is released into the suction air stream as the belt passes over the upper roller.

According to the above mentioned application the rear nozzle lip is positioned above the surface coverings so that lint resting on the carpet will not be trapped and thus prevent it from being picked up by the litter lifter.

The nozzle of the above mentioned application is satisfactory from a litter picking standpoint but because of the low suction, is somewhat less than that to be desired as to cleaning effectiveness in other respects, for example, in removing deeply embedded dirt.

The present invention retains the litter lifting ability of the above mentioned application and shows an improvement over its general cleaning eifectiveness.

According to the present invention a tight seal is provided entirely about the suction nozzle so that a high suction is produced. A roller forms a seal at the rear of the nozzle so as to maintain a high suction within the nozzle. The roller is polished so that it will not interfere with the movement of the nozzle over the carpet and will not tend to scrape lint, etc. along ahead of it as it is moved rearwardly across the surface being cleaned. The surface contacting roller is positively rotated so as to tend to discharge dirt etc. into the interior of the nozzle on the forward stroke.

A flexible sealing member extends across the rear of the nozzle and contacts the surface of the surface contacting roller to form a seal at that point, the flexible member being held against the roller by the suction within the nozzle.

The litter lifter belt is assembled about the rollers within the nozzle under tension and over an idler roller which serves to hold the belt against the surface contacting roller so that the latter is positively driven.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which; I

The single figure is the longitudinal sectional view of the suction nozzle of the present invention.

The numeral 10 represents the nozzle body having a suction passage 11, interiorly communicating with the interior of a fitting 12 swiveled at 13 to the body 10; The fitting 12 is adapted to be connected by means of a wand and a flexible hose of any desired construction to the suction inlet of a motor-fan-filter unit. H Mounted for rotation within the suction passage 11 and extending transversely of the nozzle body 10 .are upper and lower belt rolls 15 and 16 and an idler roll 17. A litter liftergbelt 18 is threaded over the rolls 15 and 16 under tension and is provided with a plurality of spaced transverse slits 19 extending about its entire pe riphery. The spacing of the slits maybe variedv de pending upon the type of litter to be picked up by the,

nozzle. The slits 19 open up at A and Has the belt passes over the rolls 15 and 16 for a purpose: which will presently appear.

The mouth of the nozzle is formed with a front nozzle lip 20, side nozzle lips 21 anda rear nozzle lip 22 in the form of a polished roll which may be of steelor other suitable material. The forward edge of the front lip 20 and the rear ends of the lips 21 are turned upwardly slightly as shown A flexible sealing strip 23 is secured to the rear wall of thebody 10 above the roll 22 with its lower edge in sealing engagement with the periphery of the roll 22 along its entire length and is held against the periphery of the roll during operation by the suction within the interior of the suction passage 11. v

As stated the belt 18 is under tension and, the idler roll 17 is so positioned relative to the belt 18 that the surface contact roll 22 and the belt 18 are pressed into frictional contact with each other.

The point A of belt 18 is so positioned relative to the surface upon which the nozzle rests when in use that it contacts that surface and the point B is positioned in the suction air stream.

The belt 18 may be made of rubber or other suitable flexible material having a co-efficient of friction such that its frictional contact with the surface contacting roll 22 will rotate that roll as the belt moves upwardly or downwardly in the suction passage 11.

Operation The nozzle of the present invention is designed to give its most eifective performance on the forward stroke as shown by the arrows in the illustrated modification.

Fitting 12 is attached to a wand which is connected to the suction inlet of a motor-fan-filter unit by means of a flexible hose and the motor energized to produce a suction in the suction passage 11.

The nozzle 10 is then moved forward in the direction of the arrows as shown in the illustration. Frictional contact between the floor and the point A of the belt 18 will cause the belt to move counterclockwise in the direction of the arrow C. The frictional contact between the belt 18 and the surface contact roll 22 will cause the roll 22 to rotate clockwise as shown.

Since the suction mouth nozzle 10 is sealed all about its periphery a high suction will be produced in the suction passage 11 and air will be drawn through the carpet to lift the carpet against the nozzle mouth and remove deeply embedded dirt in the carpet pile which will be carried away in the suction air stream.

Any other debris resting on the surface of the carpet will be grasped by the fingers 30 formed by the material of the belt 18 between the slits 19 as the slits open at A and close again as that portion of the belt 18 passes upwardly into the suction passage 11.

. Patented. Mar. 11, 958

' As the belt 18 passes over the" upper roll the fingers 30 open up at the point B and release any debris grasped by the fingers 30 into the suction air stream. Rotation of the surface contacting roll 22 will throw any debris not picked up by the belt- 18 into the suction air stream and will also prevent the nozzle mouth from digging into the pile of the carpet and will thus render-the nozzle easier to push. That is an important'feature of the present invention since'the high suction within the suction nozzle 10 would otherwise cause difficulty in moving the nozzle over the carpet.

The nozzle of the present invention is not designed to produce any material cleaning effect on the rearward stroke but is merely pulled backward bythe wand and pushed forward again so as to again operate in the manner described.

While I have shown and described but a single embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that that embodiment is to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish tobe limited to the specific structure shown and described but wish to include all equivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim: a

1. A suction nozzle for a suction cleaner comprising, a nozzle body, said body being formed'with a suction passage, upper and lower rolls rotatably mounted within said suction passage and extending transversely of said body, an endless flexible belt threaded about said rolls under tension, said belt being formed with transverse spaced apart slits in its outerperiphery whereby said slits will open to form litter grasping and releasing fingers as said belt passes over said rolls, said suction passage terminating in a suction mouth including front and side nozzle lips for contacting the surface to be cleaned, said lower roll being positioned so that the periphery of said belt will extend below said suction mouth as it passes '4 over said lower roll and be driven by frictional contact with the surface to be cleaned, and a surface contacting roll forming the rear lip of said suction mouth and being in driven frictional contact with the periphery of said belt so as to be rotated in a direction such that its surface contacting portion moves in the direction of movement of said nozzle.

2. A suction nozzle according to claim 1 in which said surface contacting roll and said front and side nozzle lips form a seal with the surface being cleaned.

3. A suction nozzle according to claim 1 including an idler roll rotatably mounted in said nozzle between said upper and lower rolls and positioned to hold the lower run of said belt in frictional contact with said surface contacting roll. 1 g I w 4. A suction nozzle according to claim 1 including a flexible member secured to the rear of said body and extending downwardly into contact with the periphery of said surface contacting roll to form a seal between said roll and said suction passage, said flexible member being held in contact with the periphery of said roll by the suction produced within said suction passage.

5. A suction nozzle according to claim 1 in which said surface contacting roll has a polished surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Moorhead Oct. 29, 1912 

